Conveying devices, such as those which are used for moving objects between different stations in a factory, usually comprise a conveying track comprising a belt or a chain. A conveyor track consists of an endless conveyor chain or belt that is supported by conveyor beams. The conveyor chain or belt glides on sliding surfaces on the conveyor beams in order to reduce the friction and the wear. This surface may be the conveyor beam itself or may be an additional component, such as a slide rail. The conveyor track may comprise curves and bends and at the end regions of a conveyor track, there is either a drive unit which drives the chain or an idler end unit which supports the chain for the return path.
There are a number of different designs for such conveyors available. Products may either be conveyed directly on the conveyor belt or chain, or may be conveyed on product carriers. A conveyor chain is made up of a large number of individual chain parts, designed to be able to support the conveyed products. A conveyor system is adapted to different types of products. For some products, such as medical equipments or in lab automation, the environment is clean and dust free, whereas for other products, the environment may be dusty, wet and/or messy. In these cases, it is important that it is relatively easy to clean the conveyor in order to reduce wear of the conveyor and to ensure a reliable operation.
One such industry is the food industry, where various requirements regarding cleanliness are imposed on the handling of goods, mainly to ensure good sanitary conditions in the manufacturing or packaging process. This is necessary to ensure that the food products are not contaminated. Depending on the type of food products, more or less hygienic demands are imposed. In order to meet these requirements, a number of measures are often taken. These include different cleaning schemes, including e.g. cleaning parts of the conveyor at regular intervals, with a more thorough cleaning at less frequent intervals. These may include partly disassembling the conveyor system at regular intervals, and removing the chain or belt to allow cleaning the conveyor system and chain.
It is thus of advantage to provide a system containing components that are easy to clean and that allow for the complete system to be easily and thoroughly cleaned. Such components are preferably made without slits or crevices where contaminations can enter. It is further of advantage that the components are easy to remove which makes it easier to reach all surfaces of the system when cleaning.
US 20120018283 A1 describes a conveyor in which the conveyor belt is supported by removable longitudinal runners. The side guards, the belt guards, the conveyor belt and the longitudinal runners are removed in order to clean the conveyor. In this way, the interior of the conveyor can be cleaned.
While this solution makes the conveyor system easier to clean, it requires partial disassembly of the conveyor system, which takes a lot of time, effort and manpower. Another problem with the removal of parts is that the parts must be kept somewhere during the cleaning. There is also a risk that fasteners or other parts are lost and not replaced, which may lead to malfunction of the conveyor system.
GB 1572376 A describes a conveyor for a table top chain comprising support rails arranged in a serpentine fashion. The support rails are attached to angled cross member brackets, where the upper flange is provided with slots adapted to hold the support rails. The support rails are provided with longitudinal grooves which are adapted to fit in the slots of the flanges. Due to the bent nature of the support rails, and to the longitudinal extension of a slot, each support rail will bear against one side of a slot at one end of the flange and on the other side of the slot at the other end of the flange. The support rail will thus be supported on both sides of the support rail at each flange. Each support rail is adapted to be easy to replace when worn. The guide rails are bolted to a cross member at one end.
This solution allows guide rails that are worn to be replaced, but is not suitable for daily removal in order to clean the parts of the conveyor. In order to be able to clean such a conveyor, the guide rails must be removed.
US 20050241332 A1 describes a conveyor, in which a conveyor belt is supported by a frame on which straight sliding rails are mounted to reduce friction. The sliding rails comprise recesses and are designed as self-supporting elements placed on transverse bars of the supporting frame.
Even if the described systems may function for some uses, there is still room for an improved conveyor support rail attachment.